Photo credit Priscilla C. Scott
Salt Lake City-based progressive blues rock outfit, DWELLERS, are pleased to unveil their new video for “Headlines.” Now playing at Decibel Magazine, the track comes off the band’s Corrupt Translation Machine full-length, released via Small Stone Recordings in May.
DWELLERS’ story has always been one of diversion and redirection. Forged in Salt Lake City by guitarist/vocalist Joey Toscano, also of Iota, the band’s 2012 debut, Good Morning Harakiri, and its 2014 follow-up, Pagan Fruit, helped establish a distinct creative voice in psychedelia and Americana-tinged blues rock, expressive and vulnerable in ways that heavy rock ‘n’ roll is rarely willing to be.
Corrupt Translation Machine, which brings bassist Oz Inglorious (Iota, ex-Bird Eater), drummer Kellii Scott (Failure), and pianist/synthesist Chase Cluff (Last) to a completely revamped four-piece lineup, is both a reinvention and continuation of DWELLERS’ purpose. The album lays claim to the heaviest sounds DWELLERS has yet produced and meets that head on with poppish fluidity and melodicism as the album sets out with “Headlines,” only to take greater risks later. Love and the potential of its loss meet with expansive, sometimes cinematic texturing, and just as Toscano led Iota into a career-defining reignition with 2024’s comeback LP, Pentasomnia, so too do DWELLERS declare themselves with Corrupt Translation Machine.
“In the context of the album, the Corrupt Translation Machine is the human being,” reveals Toscano. “The songs on this album seem to be mostly about impermanence, addiction, loss, love, and the intangibility of perception. I say ‘seem to’ because there was no contrived concept for the album to be one thing or another, and when I listen to it, I have a strong feeling that I’m interpreting it just the same as when I’m listening to someone else’s songs. I could tell you exactly what each song is about, but that would go against the title of the album.”
Notes Toscano, “‘Headlines’ is a simple little light-hearted song about the impermanence and intangibility of inner thoughts, the impermanence of all things externally as well, and trying not to get too caught up in it all.”
Writes Decibel, “The animated video is notable for, among other things, the fact that it was created the old-fashioned way—completely by hand. No AI was used. The track itself is equally organic, a progressive, post-grunge slacker that sounds like Alice in Chains or Soundgarden in their quieter moments.”
Watch DWELLERS’ “Headlines” video HERE.
The evocative tapestry of DWELLERS’ sound has evolved in craft, intention and performance. It’s not just about having new people on board or about not sounding like Iota. Corrupt Translation Machine posits DWELLERS as a singular entity as it engages classic progressivism and breadth in the eleven-minute “Marigold (Heart Of Stone)” or shifts into the outright tonal crush of “The Beast” or the weighted push of “The Maze.” No one song is just one thing, however, and as DWELLERS bring together ideas from across a range of styles from space rock to dirt-coated grunge, the listening experience becomes less about genre and more about soul.
In this way, and despite the title, Corrupt Translation Machine could hardly communicate more clearly what and who DWELLERS are as a band. And more, it speaks to the greater ongoing thread of their progression, renewed after eleven years and somehow still right on time.
All songs on Corrupt Translation Machine were written, arranged, and produced by Joey Toscano. Drums were tracked at Akira Audio by Gabe Van Benschoten in Calabasas, California. Everything else recorded by Mike Sasitch at Man Vs. Music in Salt Lake City, Utah, mixed by Eric Hoegemyer at Tree Laboratory in Brooklyn, New York, and mastered by Chris Goosman at Baseline Audio Labs in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Artwork was handled by Dani Joy and layout by Alexander von Wieding.
DWELLERS’ Corrupt Translation Machine is available on CD, digital, and limited-edition vinyl. Find orders at the Small Stone Recordings Bandcamp page HERE where the record can be streamed.
Fans of Mad Season, Neil Young, Iota, Failure, David Gilmore, Radiohead, Queens Of the Stone Age, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, King Buffalo, and the like, pay heed.
“Corrupt Translation Machine sees the band return, sounding better and more triumphant than ever. With this collection of songs, DWELLERS combine the dark west and heaviest material that they have ever recorded with their own sense of melody and the album sees the band reach even greater heights with their music.” – Echoes And Dust
“Corrupt Translation Machine doesn’t just mark a return—it redefines DWELLERS as one of the most original and emotionally articulate acts in the heavy underground. This is an album that rewards attention, reveals more with every spin, and dares to be both intellectually challenging and soul-stirring. Fans of Mad Season, Pink Floyd, King Buffalo, Failure, and Neil Young will find echoes here—but ultimately, this is DWELLERS’ world, and we’re just lucky to step inside for a while.” — Jace Media Music
“What sets DWELLERS apart is their refusal to be pinned down by genre conventions… stoner and psych elements, but this is no cookie-cutter doom-and-fuzz affair. This is progressive heavy blues, channeling a moody, sprawling energy that’s equal parts Pink Floyd and ’90s alt-rock… there’s a serious Alice In Chains vibe here, and surprisingly, it works. Normally, that grungy flavor might be a deal breaker for me, but these guys pull it off with conviction. The band feels locked in, confident, and utterly comfortable in their skin… Corrupt Translation Machine plays like a thinking man’s Stoner record – rich with soul, intent, and depth.” — Black Angel Promotions
“The nine tracks are dense with smooth melodies and atmospheric sounds of rock and heavy psych.” — Jam Yeti Music Blog
“The songs are simple, but the deep level of emotion is not something so easily accomplished. At times, it makes me yearn for something more…maybe even something better than I have. At other times, it makes me a bit sad to settle for what I have, which is my truth. Maybe through, it’s not so bad? As the album fades away, I make a vow that I will box that feeling of longing and throw away the key.” — Metal Temple
DWELLERS:
Joey Toscano – guitars, vocals, synth, Rhodes piano
Oz Inglorious – bass
Kellii Scott – drums
Chase Cluff – synthesizers, Rhodes piano
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